Listen up, little ones
Listen for the word one.
Reading
John 17:20–26—May They All Be One
Optional Reading
Ezekiel 37:15-28
Keys for kids
- Israel and Judah were divided.
- God said he would make them one.
- Jesus prayed for his disciples also to be one.
Questions
- What were the two sticks illustrating?
- What did Jesus pray for his disciples.
- How does God unite different people as one?
Notes
(See Saturday for authors)
Ezekiel was told by God to join two sticks in his hand—one stick marked for Judah and the other marked for Ephraim. Held together in his hand, they looked like one stick. God said he would do what Ezekiel could only illustrate—he would make the two sticks one stick!
Here in John 17, Jesus prays for his disciples and for those who would come to believe through the gospel they would preach to others. And Jesus’s prayer is that the believers would be one. In fact, his prayer is that they would be one as Jesus and his father are one. Hughes notes that Christ prays for a supernatural unity that is modeled and enabled by the Godhead. This unity is possible because true believers are united in the core of their beings. That is why we often can sense that we have met another believer before words have even been spoken. We share the divine nature!
And the basis of that unity is believing the word about Christ. We can’t push for unity with anyone who does not believe with us in the person and work of Jesus, eternally God the Son, as it is revealed in the Bible. And this unity, as in Ezekiel, is supernatural. God must make different people—as different as Jews and Greeks (Ephesians 2:14–16)—one by the work of the Holy Spirit in us.
Swedish Method questions
Praise
Psalm 34a, 119t
Prayer
- Pray that God will make us one at SRC and beyond.
- Pray for change in you from last Lord’s Day’s sermons.
- Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.